Year 1 English: Practice sets and reading with a grown-up
Part of the Year 1 English phonics check practice chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page · Download worksheet (PDF) · Answers (PDF)
Practice sets and reading with a grown-up
Here are three practice sets, Set A, Set B and Set C. Each set has 40 words: 20 real words and 20 alien words. Each set has two sections, like the check. The words are mixed, so your child cannot guess which kind comes next.
Set C practises the other spellings from Chapter 3, such as ay, ie, ue, au and ey. Together, the three sets use every sound taught so far.
Read the words in order, from 1 to 40. Do not skip a word, even if it looks strange.
| Section 1: simpler sounds | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 mug | 2 vop | 3 hen | 4 jid |
| 5 sock | 6 wum | 7 lamp | 8 fep |
| 9 bed | 10 zib | 11 grip | 12 slup |
| 13 tack | 14 quop | 15 pot | 16 frem |
| 17 yam | 18 nup | 19 rug | 20 vull |
| Section 2: harder sounds and longer words | |||
| 21 ship | 22 thop | 23 fern | 24 shoff |
| 25 bath | 26 chume | 27 ring | 28 phim |
| 29 hair | 30 jipe | 31 boat | 32 vope |
| 33 light | 34 moop | 35 rain | 36 sheek |
| 37 bike | 38 ponkib | 39 sunshine | 40 dreep |
| Section 1: simpler sounds | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 fox | 2 gup | 3 net | 4 zom |
| 5 dip | 6 dulp | 7 map | 8 fasp |
| 9 rock | 10 kiz | 11 bus | 12 wiff |
| 13 hug | 14 pex | 15 fizz | 16 vep |
| 17 kid | 18 juk | 19 tap | 20 durb |
| Section 2: harder sounds and longer words | |||
| 21 shop | 22 whep | 23 pure | 24 thoip |
| 25 chess | 26 chome | 27 key | 28 morsh |
| 29 whale | 30 lirt | 31 cloud | 32 fowk |
| 33 farm | 34 twoe | 35 new | 36 bleen |
| 37 toy | 38 curp | 39 seaside | 40 vaw |
| Section 1: simpler sounds | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 yell | 2 yeb | 3 quit | 4 quaz |
| 5 bell | 6 quimp | 7 kiss | 8 zell |
| 9 bull | 10 vuss | 11 buzz | 12 kell |
| 13 yes | 14 nef | 15 yet | 16 tep |
| 17 quack | 18 mub | 19 puff | 20 dazz |
| Section 2: harder sounds and longer words | |||
| 21 pie | 22 zie | 23 autumn | 24 fene |
| 25 blue | 26 plue | 27 hear | 28 vear |
| 29 day | 30 drayp | 31 tea | 32 theap |
| 33 these | 34 peyk | 35 monkey | 36 naul |
| 37 shoe | 38 vroe | 39 crew | 40 plew |
How to use the read-it card. Show your child one word at a time, with no picture. Say: “Read it.” Wait a few seconds. If your child is stuck, ask: “What sound does the first letter make?” Then let them push the sounds together. Do not say the word, and do not tell them what an alien word means.
Key ideas
- Sets A, B and C each have 40 words: 20 real and 20 alien.
- Each set has two sections: simpler sounds, then harder sounds and longer words.
- Show one word at a time on a picture-free card.
- Do not say an alien word for your child, and do not tell them what it means.
Method. Go along the 20 words of section 1 and count only the real words.
- Look at section 1 of Set A. There are 20 words in section 1.20 words
- Count only the real words. Real words have a meaning. The other words are alien.10 real words
- Write the answer. 10
Check. The other 10 words are alien. 10 + 10 = 20. ✓
Watch out. Count the real words only. Alien words do not count here.
Method. Subtract the words your child read correctly from the total.
- Find the total. Set B has 40 words.40 words
- Find the words read correctly. Your child read 36 words correctly.36 correct
- Take away the correct words. What is left is the number missed.40 − 36 = 4
- Write the answer. 4 words
Check. 36 + 4 = 40. ✓
Watch out. Missed words are the ones left over. Check that the two numbers add to 40.
Method. Count along section 1 of Set A to word number 12.
- Count the words in order. Start at word 1 and count to 12.mug, vop, hen, jid, sock, wum, lamp, fep, bed, zib, grip, slup
- Find the twelfth word. The twelfth word is the last one in that list.word 12 = slup
- Write the answer. slup
Check. Count again: there are 12 words in that list. ✓
Watch out. Count carefully, and do not skip a word.
Watch out
Watch out: when a child reads a word wrong, do not say the word straight away. Give them time to sound it out first.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Practise for about ten minutes, a few times a week. Praise the sounding out, even when the word is not quite right. Use the read-it card for the words your child finds hard.
Exercise 12F Practice sets
Method. Count the words in Set A.
- Count section 1. Section 1 has 20 words.20
- Count section 2. Section 2 has 20 words.20
- Add them together. Both sections make the whole set.20 + 20 = 40
- Write the answer. 40
Check. Set A has 40 words, the same as the check. ✓
Watch out. Count both sections.
Method. Read section 1 of Set A from the start, and write down only the alien words.
- Go through the list in order. Check each word: does it have a meaning?word 1 to word 20
- Write down the words with no meaning. These are the alien words.vop, jid, wum, fep, zib, slup, quop, frem, nup, vull
- Write the answer. vop, jid, wum, fep, zib, slup, quop, frem, nup, vull
Check. There are 10 alien words in section 1, and 10 real words. ✓
Watch out. Look at every word, not only the first few.
Method. Look at the words in section 2 of Set A, and find the one with the igh sound.
- Look at the words with igh. The trigraph igh is three letters for one sound.light has igh
- Check the other words. None of the other words has igh.no other igh
- Write the answer. light is a real word.light
Check. light: l | igh | t. ✓
Watch out. igh has three letters but one sound.
Method. Find the real word in section 1 of Set B that ends with zz.
- Look at the end of each real word. Real words in section 1 of Set B: fox, net, dip, map, rock, bus, hug, fizz, kid, tap.fizz ends with zz
- Check the other words. None of the other real words ends with zz.no other zz
- Write the answer. fizz
Check. fizz: f | i | zz. ✓
Watch out. The double z at the end makes one sound.
Key words. A sound box holds one sound. A digraph is two letters that make one sound.
Method. Say the word slowly. Put the letters for each sound in one box.
- Say the word slowly, one sound at a time. Say each sound on its own, like a robot.ch - e - ss
- Put the letters for each sound in a box. Two or three letters that make one sound share one box: ch, ss.ch | e | ss
- Count the boxes. Each box is one sound.3 sounds
- Write the answer. ch, e, ss
Check. Push the boxes together again: ch + e + ss makes chess. ✓
Watch out. Keep the letters of ch together in one box. Do not split them into separate letters.
Method. Look at what the child said, then at the sounds in shop.
- Look at the word shop. shop starts with the sh sound.sh | o | p
- Look at what the child said. The child said s, then o, then p, so the sh was missed.s - o - p
- Write the answer. The sh sound. Sh is one sound, not s and h.
Check. Push the boxes together: sh - o - p makes shop. ✓
Watch out. Two letters can make one sound. Check every digraph.
Method. Think about what the read-it card is for.
- Look at each choice. a) gives the answer away. c) shows a picture, which the card does not have.a) and c) are not right
- Find the choice that helps the child read. Waiting lets the child sound the word out.b) wait, then ask about the first sound
- Write the answer. b
Check. Choice b gives the child time, then a small prompt. ✓
Watch out. Give time first. Help with a question, not with the whole word.
Method. Think about what an alien word is.
- Think about the word. An alien word is made up and has no meaning.no meaning
- Think about the reading. The child must read the letters, one sound at a time.read the letters
- Write the answer. Because there is no meaning. The child should read the letters.
Check. If you tell a meaning, the child is not reading the letters. ✓
Watch out. Reading the letters is the skill the check tests.
Method. Make a made-up word with ck at the end, using a short vowel.
- Choose a short vowel. Short vowels are a, e, i, o and u in words like tack and sock.u
- Add ck at the end. ck comes at the end, after the short vowel.u + ck
- Write the word, and check it. It must have no meaning and not be a real word.nuck
Check. Read it by sounding it out: n - u - ck. It has no meaning. ✓
Watch out. Check that your made-up word is not a real word.
Method. Take the words read correctly away from the total.
- Find the total. Set A has 40 words.40
- Find the words read correctly. The child read 31 words correctly.31
- Take away the correct words. The rest are the words the child missed.40 − 31 = 9
- Write the answer. 9
Check. 31 + 9 = 40. ✓
Watch out. The missed words are what is left over.